The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI), a flagship data-driven governance initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, has been selected for the Gold Award at the National Awards for e-Governance 2026 under Category VII – Digital Transformation through the Use of Data Analytics in Digital Platforms by Central Ministries, States and Union Territories. The award will be presented during the 29th National Conference on e-Governance, which will be held on 1–2 July 2026 in Jaipur, Rajasthan. The Conference is being jointly organised by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), in association with the Government of Rajasthan. The theme of this year’s Conference, “Viksit Bharat 2047: AI-Enabled, Data-Driven and Secure Digital Governance,” reflects the Government’s commitment to leveraging emerging technologies, data-driven decision-making and robust cybersecurity frameworks to deliver efficient, secure and citizen-centric public services.

The National Awards for e-Governance are conferred annually to recognise and promote excellence in the implementation of e-Governance initiatives across the country. In 2026, a total of 17 projects and initiatives have been selected for recognition across seven award categories. The Gold Award comprises a trophy, a citation, and a cash incentive of ₹10 lakh for further strengthening the initiative and advancing public welfare outcomes.

About Panchayat Advancement Index

The Panchayat Advancement Index (PAI) is India’s first comprehensive, data-driven framework for assessing and ranking the performance of Gram Panchayats across the nine themes of the Localisation of Sustainable Development Goals (LSDGs). PAI 2.0, the latest and significantly strengthened version of the Index, assesses more than 2.6 lakh Gram Panchayats against 150 indicators and 230 data points. Based on their composite scores, Gram Panchayats are classified into five performance categories. For Detailed Information on PAI click here

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AA